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Eocene to Oligocene benthic foraminiferal isotopic record in the Bay of Biscay

Nature volume 296, pages 347–350 (1982)Cite this article

Abstract

We present here oxygen and carbon isotopic records of Eocene to Oligocene benthic f oraminif era from two Bay of Biscay Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) sites (119 and 401). δ18O of benthic foraminifera increases 1.9‰ from a middle Eocene minimum (Zones P10–P11) to an earliest Oligocene maximum (Zone NP21). Approximately 1.4‰ of the increase in benthic foraminiferal δ18O occurs during the late Eocene to earliest Oligocene (Zones P15/16–NP21). Previous results from other North Atlantic DSDP sites (400A and 398) have significantly lower δ18O values of benthic foraminifera, some by as much as 2‰ (refs 1–3). We believe that these differences result from diagenetic alteration of the sediments in the deeper-buried Sites 400A and 398.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oceanographic Institution/Massachusetts Institute of Technology Joint Program in Oceanography, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, 02543, USA

    Kenneth G. Miller

  2. Department of Geology and Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, 02543, USA

    William B. Curry

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  1. Kenneth G. Miller
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  2. William B. Curry
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Miller, K., Curry, W. Eocene to Oligocene benthic foraminiferal isotopic record in the Bay of Biscay. Nature 296, 347–350 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1038/296347a0

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